Uganda’s athletes failed to win at the IAAF World Challenge meet in Hengelo, Netherlands on Sunday, but two of them broke national records in the women’s category.
According to the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), Olympic medal hopeful Annet Negesa and Janet Achola shattered existing national records.
Negesa, the All Africa Games 800m champion and Africa junior 800m and 1500m champion was third in 800m clocking 1 minute 59.08 seconds. This is an improvement on the 2 minutes 00.41 seconds mark she set when she won her Africa junior title in Gaborone Botswana in May last year.
Negesa, however, lost her national 1500m record of 4 minutes 09.17 seconds. Achola finished fifth in the race clocking 4 minutes 05.52 seconds. Her previous best was 4 minutes 09.51 seconds. The 800m race was won by Kenya’s Janeth Jekosgei Busienei.
In the men’s 10,000m race, Ethiopians were dominant with nine of them finishing in the top ten positions. Ariku Beleke triumphed with time of 27:11.70 which is the fastest in the world this year. The race doubled up as the Ethiopian Olympic trial in the event. Tariku’s elder brother Kenenisa is the Olympic defending champion. Uganda’s Abraham Kiplimo managed to finish in 11th place with time of 27:49.76.
